“I have to see if Courtois is 99 per cent or 100 per cent. If he’s 99 per cent he doesn’t play for sure.

“I have to make life easy for me. If I explain to one, I have to give them all explanations. In Christmas, I’d spend all the time giving explanations.”

Mourinho gave a curt response when one Chelsea player knocked on his door – “I said [the other guy] was playing better, closed door, goodbye” – and says even the likes of Mario Balotelli and Iker Casillas did not approach him at former clubs.

“It’s the concept of helping the team,” he explained. “The one that comes on in the last five minutes, he can be a crucial player.

“If he makes a mistake, the team loses. If he does well, the team wins. It is the concept of the team – everybody wins, everybody loses.”